Contents

4. Housing

The Scottish Government continues to work towards the vision
that all people in Scotland live in high quality, sustainable and
affordable homes which meet their needs.

In 2015 the Veterans Commissioner produced reports on
Transition in Scotland and
Provision of Information on Housing for Service Leavers and
Veterans in Scotland. The recommendations for the Scottish
Government regarding housing issues have been considered, with
changes being made to ensure that information about housing options
are easy to access and understand. These improvements build on
changes already made to legislation through the Housing (Scotland)
Act 2010; to make it easier for former Service personnel to
establish a local connection when seeking homelessness assistance.
In Scotland, numbers of homelessness applications overall have
fallen steadily over the past five years, including from those
declared as a former member of the Armed Forces.

4.1 Access to Housing Advice

The Scottish Veterans Commissioner highlighted the issues
experienced by some veterans who struggled to find out about the
housing options available to them and their families. As a result,
the Scottish Government:

has launched a Veterans Portal on
mygov.scot with a dedicated housing section clearly
setting out housing options and how veterans can gain access to
more tailored advice
[12]. Links have been created on other veterans websites such as
the Armed Forces Covenant Website
[13] and the Veterans Gateway
[14] to help sign-post individuals quickly to the information
they require. A link will also be added to the Ministry of
Defence Service Leavers Guide at the next update.

is revising the practice guidance on social housing
allocations. The guidance, which will be re-launched in 2018,
will provide advice on meeting the needs of Service Leavers and
veterans, including advice on local connection.

is revising the
Scottish Guide for People Leaving the Armed Forces and
Ex-Service Personnel which is aimed at Service Leavers and
veterans. The revised guide will reflect the Scottish Veterans
Commissioner's recommendation on visual impact and accessibility
and will be issued in early 2018.

is continuing to ensure that the Joint Services Housing
Advice Office (
JSHAO)
and other relevant organisations are kept updated on housing
options in Scotland.

The Scottish Government also increased grant funding to
Housing Options Scotland in 2017/18.
Housing Options Scotland's Military Matters project
focuses on housing issues affecting people serving in the Armed
Forces in Scotland, Service personnel transitioning into civilian
life and veterans.

4.2 Additional Housing Support

With support from Scottish Government of £2.59 million,
the Scottish Veterans Housing Association delivered 51 homes in
Cranhill, Glasgow in September 2014. Twenty one of these homes are
let at affordable rental levels to former members of the Armed
Forces and their families, with the remaining 30 flats being
available as temporary accommodation for veterans in need of
dedicated support.

In 2013, £1.3 million of Scottish Government support was
awarded to the Scottish Veterans Garden City Association (
SVGCA)
to help build 38 homes for physically and psychologically disabled
ex-Service personnel. Twenty five homes are now complete and
SVGCA
is working to secure other development opportunities across the
country for the remaining 13 homes.

Priority access to the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (
OMSE)
and the New Supply Shared Equity Scheme (
NSSE) is
provided to both serving members of the Armed Forces and veterans
who left the Armed Forces within the past two years. It is also
open to widows, widowers and other partners of Service personnel
for up to two years following the death of their partner during
service.

Available data shows that in 2016/17, 82% of applications
received from known members of the Armed Forces community
successfully led to properties being secured through the
OMSE
scheme. This figure compares favourably to the rest of the
population in Scotland; which saw a 48% success rate for the same
time period.